(NNPA)—A D.C. Superior Court judge on Feb. 1 dismissed a lawsuit filed by eight members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, or AKA, the nation’s oldest Black sorority. The eight members alleged that the organization’s president, Barbara McKinzie, misappropriated millions of dollars of the sorority’s money. They claimed McKinzie was also improperly awarded a $375,000 stipend and used the organization’s credit card to purchase personal items for herself and friends. BARBARA MCKINZIE

(NNPA)—Former Republican congressman Tom Tancredo made controversial statements about President Obama, voting procedures, and immigration in his kickoff speech at the National Tea Party convention in Nashville, Tenn. on Feb. 4. Among his statements, Tancredo called for the return of a poll tax, which those wishing to vote must pay. Tancredo also said potential voters should be required to take literacy tests in order to vote.

The Week of Feb. 12-18 February 12 1793—Congress passes the first Fugitive Slave Law. The law made it easier for a slave owner to re-take control of a slave who had escaped to freedom. Blacks and their supporters were outraged because the 1793 law only required the “word” of a White man before a magistrate to declare any Black person a run away slave and have him or her arrested and placed in bondage. Under the law even Blacks who had earned their freedom or had never been slaves were placed in danger. TUSKEGEE EXPERIMENT 1900—Legendary poet James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) writes the lyrics to the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as part of a birthday tribute to Abraham Lincoln. In time, the song would become the Black National Anthem.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito’s show of partisanship during President Obama’s State of the Union address stands as one more piece of evidence that conservatives believe the American government belongs to them, not the people of the United States. With the echoes of U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson’s “You lie” barely still, Alito’s head-wagging, lip-mouthing “Not true” in response to Obama’s claim that a recent Supreme Court decision allowing corporations to spend on political campaign ads overturned a century of precedents and opened the floodgates to special interests went way past poor decorum.

On Jan. 5, I was in attendance at a breakfast fundraiser in the behalf of Allegheny County Councilman William “Bill” Robinson. As we were sitting around just talking, a former resident of the Hill District, who resided on Whiteside Road, stated that it was a disgrace that the new development did not carry the same name Whiteside Road. I then asked, “Did you or anyone else make that suggestion?” His response was no, my response was that is what we excel at—never saying anything. If we do it’s usually after the fact.

(NNPA)—Following the Tea Party phenomenon and watching its recent convention, it was interesting to see media folks and Tea Party representatives struggle with the question of why so few Blacks were there. This is not a new thing, since the philosophical base of the Republican Party has been the Conservative movement for some time and their conventions have also been lily White. But the emergence of the Tea Party phenomenon should cause us to ask how far it is from bonafide anti-Black White nationalist politics striving to enhance its role in the political system.

Why aren’t more Black people against abortion? To sell a virtually unabated abortion agenda, people are told abortion is necessary for instances in which the life of the mother is at risk. The need to terminate a child conceived by rape or incest is also cited. Such reasons may seem logical, but they account for only a small portion of actual abortions.

(NNPA)—You would think that after Republican leaders in the House and Senate united to oppose every major initiative that President Obama has proposed—ignoring how Americans would benefit from such programs—that he would finally get the message. Unfortunately, he hasn’t. Instead of seeing Republicans as the obstructionists that they are, Obama has announced that he is calling yet another meeting with GOP leaders on Feb. 25 to solicit their ideas on healthcare reform.

(REAL TIMES MEDIA)—Every year around Valentine’s Day I’m always fascinated by the deluge of news stories and commercials about love, romance and dating. Valentine’s Day, like most other holidays is overall a good idea, it’s an opportunity to share love with other people in your life, whether you have a special someone or not. One thing that does surprise me though, is that for all the talk of love and dating, there is fairly little public or commercial discussion of marriage during this time of year. Isn’t that what all of these cards, candies and flowers are hopefully going to lead to? It seems to me that while Americans are more obsessed than ever with finding and falling into true love, we are less interested than ever in actually getting married.